- Launch of large-scale ASP service
for clients in manufacturing industry
ISID, NCN, STI form alliance for CAD data conversion business
Information Services International - Dentsu, Ltd. (ISID, headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo; Jutaro Takinami, CEO; ¥743 million in capital), Spatial Technology Inc. of the United States (STI; based in Boulder, Colorado), and NC Network of Japan (NCN; based in Chiyoda, Tokyo; Yasuo Uchihara, CEO; ¥148 million in capital) have worked out an alliance agreement for the launch of a CAD data conversion-focused ASP service in Japan. The target date for market inception is November 2000.
Under terms of the tie-up agreement, the new ASP service for the Japanese market is to be a localized and beefed-up version of 3Dshare, one of the PlanetCAD.COM services currently provided by STI in the U.S.
It is anticipated that this new service will alleviate many of the problems currently associated with the task of CAD data conversion in Japan. Additionally, the partners to the new undertaking have expressed their interest in gradually adding other features besides data conversion to the service menu over time, accordingly transforming the venture into a leading portal site for Japan's manufacturing sector.
Converting CAD data across multiple platforms in Japan has grown into a thorny issue for many firms active in the field of manufacturing design. The problems involved in this task are attributable to an array of factors, including the breakdown of affiliate ties in the industry, the penetration of collaborative product commerce (CPC), and the increasingly widespread use of 3D design processes.
Repairing data loss or corruption caused by the conversion process can be a time-consuming and costly affair .
IGES and STEP are international standards that have been devised for the conversion of data between different CAD platforms. In reality, though, flawless conversions are still all but impossible due to variations in data density and formats.
Many of middle-ranking companies have developed their own proprietary translation packages for data conversion in an effort to overcome these problems. However, the drawback with such approaches is that they typically require elaborate, large-scale architectures to handle the many different CAD systems now in use. Furthermore, because different CAD systems require multiple translation packages for this purpose, the overall cost of this approach tends to be prohibitive.
As a company that has already provided a variety of solutions in this field, ISID reasoned that, by teaming up with NCN, a company with several mid-tier and small companies under its umbrella, and seeking the participation of STI, a company that already has a data conversion site up and running in the US, it would be possible to help many manufacturers overcome their CAD data conversion woes with a new ASP-based data conversion service that harnesses many of the world's well-known translation engines. These efforts eventually led to the tie-up arrangement.
(1)Overview
ASP enlists a pay-per-use approach to give users access to a set of proprietary data-conversion functions. The new service will be based on STI's PlanetCAD product, with localized menus and services added for the Japanese market.
(2)Features
1. A wide lineup of proprietary translation engines
- The new ASP-based service will allow clients to use multiple translation engines from different providers on a concurrent basis.
(Currently, there are five leading makers of such translation engines worldwide. Of those, four are expected to provide their engines for use with the new ASP-based service. The goal of this approach will be to ensure coverage of at least 90 percent of all leading CAD architectures.)
- Users will select and be billed only for the results with the highest conversion rate.
2.Provision of inexpensive data conversion services
- The price structure for the system's data conversion services will be held down to lessen the financial burden on users.
Prices will start from approximately ¥3,000 per megabyte of data. Furthermore, the system will employ a transparent method of accounting that relies on pre-converted (source) data volume for billing purposes.
- Users will be charged for services rendered if and when they download the results (No charges will be incurred prior to that step.). If they are not satisfied with those results, their money will be refunded.
3.The system framework will provide for independent billing and similar arrangements on a per-gateway basis.
4.Newer services will be added to the system in a timely fashion, allowing for the provision of services better tailored to the Japanese marketplace.
5.For maximum security, the system will use 64-bit SSL encryption technology.
• Service slated for introduction: a data conversion service based on the PlanetCAD and 3Dshare architectures
• Targeted service inception date: Nov. 2000
• Fee structure: starting from approximately ¥3000 per megabyte (of uncompressed data)
-Each gateway site will establish its own framework for the provision of services to its members. Although ISID, for example, has plans to assess site users a separate user registration fee, it is also studying the idea of offering preferential rates to registered clients.
• System
-Users will be able to access the system from any standard browser package.
-The provider will be an Internet-based ASP service.
Name : SPATIAL Technology INC.
CEO : Bruce Morgan
Headquarters : Boulder, Colorado
Establishment date : 1986
Name : Spatial Technology Co., Ltd.
Representative : General Manager Masahiko Watanabe
Headquarters : 1-25-13 Minato-ku, Tokyo
Establishment date : 1994
Capital:¥10 million
Name : NC Network Co., Ltd.
Representative : Yasuo Uchihara, CEO
Headquarters : 1-7-11 Kanda-awajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Establishment date : 1998
Capital:¥148 million
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